F150 EB vs 5.0 towing

Kevin O. wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
Not only will you have no trouble pulling that TT with a 5.0 you will probably get the same mileage as an EB towing. A little less torque and HP won't make that much of a difference as the trailer will probably load out around 6K# mas y menos. I get almost the same mileage as an EB with my 06 5.4L non towing and the same or better towing our 5K# TT.

From everything I've read the 5.0 is a step up from the 5.4 which is without a doubt one of the best motors Ford ever produced. EB's remain overpriced and if buying new I would not hesitate to get the 5.0. :C

I find that hard to believe???? I had a 07 F150 with 5.4L and 3.55 gears. Around town i never saw any better than 13mpg and on the highway i would average 16.5. I towed a Hybrid that weighed 5600lbs and averaged 9mpg towing that. My Eco gets 15-15.5 around town and 19mpg on the highway. Now i tow a 33' 7500lb trailer and i average 10-10.6 mpg. My 07' felt like it had half the power of my Ecoboost mainly because of the 3.55 gears and the 4spd trans. The Ecoboost is far from over priced, you get what you pay for. If you can experience towing with one and you will understand.

I consistently average 17 around town and 19.5 (non towing), on the highway by driving the speed limit and keeping the rpm below 2,000 whenever possible. Towing (a 5k# TT), we average 12.5 but I do use a wind deflector on the rear of the Leer shell that gets me an additional 1.5 to 2 mpg. Try adding a Scan Gauge and let it teach you to drive more efficiently. Most folks see an 8 to 10% improvement almost immediately if you monitor average mpg and real time mpg simultaneously.

At the pump calculations consistently corroborate the Scan Gauge which is rarely off more than a tenth of a gallon on fill up. My bride journals our trips extensively and the mileage numbers I am giving you have been confirmed over the last 2 years and 25,000 miles about half of which were towing, often in the serious mountains of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

If you still "find that hard to believe" try the Scan Gauge and get back to me... but frankly Scarlet. :R

I bought my 5.0L because the Ecoboost is a reliability nightmare for many.

I had the 5.4L in my lemon 2010 F150 and the 5.0L is so much more powerful with the XLT optional 3.73 gears, at all rpms. The 5.4L XLT only axle option was the 3.55 axle. You had to get the rare Max Tow package to get the 3.73 gears, which usually requires ordering the truck.

See my recent post here on RV.net about this. You can read the entire thread as well.

I just responded to a thread comparing the 5.4L vs 5.0L also so I'd thought I'd throw that link in as well.

With that size trailer you will be OK. I do not like the 3.55 rear gear and it will not have nearly the low end power or high altitude power of the EB. Towing MPG would be similar, empty is a toss up based on how you drive. What the EB offers is big power in a small package. In any regard you will still want to get the truck equipped correctly for towing or you will end up with a "no payload", high priced grocery getter

I have been researching the EB for a while and it seems the mileage does vary unloaded (seen anywhere from 12-16 in town and 16-22 on the road, again unloaded). The 5.0 on the other hand gets 1-2 mpg less on average; I haven't seen much variation with unloaded 5.0 owners. Since Ford is running a huge rebate with the 5.0, is that worth several grand for a similarly equipped EB? Unless something unforeseen happens, I might tow once a year maybe twice so the dealer said I have until the end of the month. I'm not in a big hurry, so I'll ponder a bit more. :-)

Thanks again. It's giving me something to chew on.

Desert Captain wrote:
Not only will you have no trouble pulling that TT with a 5.0 you will probably get the same mileage as an EB towing. A little less torque and HP won't make that much of a difference as the trailer will probably load out around 6K# mas y menos. I get almost the same mileage as an EB with my 06 5.4L non towing and the same or better towing our 5K# TT.

From everything I've read the 5.0 is a step up from the 5.4 which is without a doubt one of the best motors Ford ever produced. EB's remain overpriced and if buying new I would not hesitate to get the 5.0. :C

I find that hard to believe???? I had a 07 F150 with 5.4L and 3.55 gears. Around town i never saw any better than 13mpg and on the highway i would average 16.5. I towed a Hybrid that weighed 5600lbs and averaged 9mpg towing that. My Eco gets 15-15.5 around town and 19mpg on the highway. Now i tow a 33' 7500lb trailer and i average 10-10.6 mpg. My 07' felt like it had half the power of my Ecoboost mainly because of the 3.55 gears and the 4spd trans. The Ecoboost is far from over priced, you get what you pay for. If you can experience towing with one and you will understand.

Don't settle for less then a 3:73 gears for your towing needs. In the future, you're going to be thankful you did. As for the EB vs the 5.0, there is debate over which is better. For me we tow considerable distance every year and see some fairly high altitudes, so the twin turbos are a win win for me.

To the Op, You should be fine with either engine with that trailer but if you think you might want to upgrade in the future i would get the Ecoboost with max tow and HD payload pkg.

Lessmore wrote:
I dunno....if I was in the market for a new Ford f 150...I do believe I would want the 5 liter V8, rather than the Turbocharged V6.


I'm not sure of the exact power....but think I'm in the ballpark at 360 hp, 380 lbs. ft. of torque. That's real good and probably not that much less than the EB V6.

Observations:

• I prefer non turbocharged engines. Yes, I know a lot of engineering has gone into the EB V6, modern technology /design and materials have gone into the EB V6....of course extensive testing has been undertaken. But it's still hammering out a lot of power per liter....much more power per liter...than the non aspirated 5 liter V8. To me....somewhere along the line that spells more likelihood of potential trouble.
• I know that forced aspiration (turbo) will maintain power much better than a non aspirated engine (5 liter V8) at high altitudes.
• I prefer the sound of a V8 over a V6 or a 4 cylinder or a V10. I guess that's the ol' Hot Rodder in me.
• Even the 5 liter V8...what with it's DOHC engine seems a bit of the complicated side...all those extra parts over a OHV V8. Extra parts= extra things to go wrong. Maybe give me a less complicated 5.3 liter OHV Chevy V8 engine.

Another question is why does Ford have significantly less warranty than rivals GM and Chrysler with their generally less complicated engines ?

I believe the powertrain warranty for Ford is 5 years/60,000 miles....GM/Chrysler...5 years/100,000 miles ....having 40,000 less warranty miles is significant to my way of thinking.

My question is less warranty provided by Ford....because of relatively complicated engines ....ie; DOHC's....twin turbo V6 ?


But I do think the F150 with either engine is a fine vehicle. In fact one buddy just bought a 2012 and another buddy is looking seriously at the 2013 F 150...after he considered GM, Dodge and Ford.

Both liked the Ford F 150 very much. But the one that bought the 2012...got the 5 liter V8 and the other guy....will buy the 5 liter V8.

One other thing about any turbocharged engine...no matter who makes it....is spooling down the turbos and letting the bearings in the turbo cool down. Now I don't know if Ford has figured out how to avoid this...but I do know a lot of other turboed engines require this in order to extend turbo life.

If this is something that needs to be done (correct me if I'm wrong)...I would find idling for a minute or two each time I wanted to shut off the engine an inconvenience.

But if you can just shut the EB V6 down...quickly... like a regular gas engine....than it's not an issue.

Also what's the life of a turbo...same as the rest of the engine...or is it considered a service item that probably will need to be rebuilt/replaced before the engine requires a rebuild/replacement ?

The turbos on the Ecoboost are water cooled and when you shut down the engine there is still fresh coolant being pulled through them until they are sufficiently cool.You see diesel pickup trucks running over 300,000 miles with no turbo problems so why would the Ecoboost be any different?? As far as the horspower between the Eco - 5.0, they might be close in numbers but the game changer is when that power is available. The 5.0 reaches max torque at 4250rpms and the Eco at 2500rpms. When it comes to towing you want as much torque as soon as possible. Here is a older video that compares the Ecoboost against Chevy 5.3L, Tundra 5.7L, and the Dodge Hemi. I only wish they had the 5.0 in the video. But i figure it has to be relatively close to Chevy's 5.3L in power and towing performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2b3yHRfHDk

BamaFlum wrote:
Wow, that was quick. Thanks. The 5.0 in question is 3.55 with the tow package. The Ford website rates this one at 8k.

My 06 5.4L has the 3:55's (tow capacity of 8,600/GCWR 14,000), and I love them. Plenty of power to tow and exceptional mileage for a V-8. Add in the 6 speed that you get and I wish I had and there is no need for lower gears with a 6K# TT. :C

I dunno....if I was in the market for a new Ford f 150...I do believe I would want the 5 liter V8, rather than the Turbocharged V6.


I'm not sure of the exact power....but think I'm in the ballpark at 360 hp, 380 lbs. ft. of torque. That's real good and probably not that much less than the EB V6.

Observations:

• I prefer non turbocharged engines. Yes, I know a lot of engineering has gone into the EB V6, modern technology /design and materials have gone into the EB V6....of course extensive testing has been undertaken. But it's still hammering out a lot of power per liter....much more power per liter...than the non aspirated 5 liter V8. To me....somewhere along the line that spells more likelihood of potential trouble.
• I know that forced aspiration (turbo) will maintain power much better than a non aspirated engine (5 liter V8) at high altitudes.
• I prefer the sound of a V8 over a V6 or a 4 cylinder or a V10. I guess that's the ol' Hot Rodder in me.
• Even the 5 liter V8...what with it's DOHC engine seems a bit of the complicated side...all those extra parts over a OHV V8. Extra parts= extra things to go wrong. Maybe give me a less complicated 5.3 liter OHV Chevy V8 engine.

Another question is why does Ford have significantly less warranty than rivals GM and Chrysler with their generally less complicated engines ?

I believe the powertrain warranty for Ford is 5 years/60,000 miles....GM/Chrysler...5 years/100,000 miles ....having 40,000 less warranty miles is significant to my way of thinking.

My question is less warranty provided by Ford....because of relatively complicated engines ....ie; DOHC's....twin turbo V6 ?


But I do think the F150 with either engine is a fine vehicle. In fact one buddy just bought a 2012 and another buddy is looking seriously at the 2013 F 150...after he considered GM, Dodge and Ford.

Both liked the Ford F 150 very much. But the one that bought the 2012...got the 5 liter V8 and the other guy....will buy the 5 liter V8.

One other thing about any turbocharged engine...no matter who makes it....is spooling down the turbos and letting the bearings in the turbo cool down. Now I don't know if Ford has figured out how to avoid this...but I do know a lot of other turboed engines require this in order to extend turbo life.

If this is something that needs to be done (correct me if I'm wrong)...I would find idling for a minute or two each time I wanted to shut off the engine an inconvenience.

But if you can just shut the EB V6 down...quickly... like a regular gas engine....than it's not an issue.

Also what's the life of a turbo...same as the rest of the engine...or is it considered a service item that probably will need to be rebuilt/replaced before the engine requires a rebuild/replacement ?